Capitola: Man, 63, shot dead in office

CAPITOLA -- A 63-year-old man was shot several times at a second-floor property management office on 41st Avenue and found dead Saturday morning, Capitola police said.

The man, who lived in the Santa Cruz Gardens area, was found about 8 a.m. at 1350 41st Ave., said Capitola Police Chief Rudy Escalante.

It was the first homicide in Capitola in nearly two years and the 11th in Santa Cruz County this year.

"It's extremely tragic anytime something like this happens," Escalante said Monday. "We've been working around the clock on it."

Police told the media about the death Sunday night. Authorities expect to release the man's name Tuesday.

He had been seen last by another worker at the office Friday evening, Escalante said.

"He could have been dead for 15 hours before he was discovered," Escalante said.

There are several offices in the building, which includes the Santa Cruz County Veterans Center. Police said the victim's office -- at Shearwater Property Management -- was the only occupied one upstairs. Few people visited the office, Escalante said.

One of the man's co-workers went to pick up something about 8 a.m. Saturday and discovered the body. Escalante declined to say whether a weapon was recovered or how many times the man was shot.

"We're sifting through files and records and evidence we collected at scene," Escalante said.

Detectives have not discussed potential motives, but officers said the shooting did not appear to be a random act of violence, Escalante said.

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No suspects have been identified.

Monday, the office building was empty because of the Veterans Day holiday.

The last homicide in Capitola was Dec. 11, 2011, when 36-year-old Ronald Aaron Carpenter was found dead in an apartment on Virgil Lane. Marcos Roberts Chavez, 25, is charged in the death.

Capitola police ask anyone with information about the 41st Avenue case to call 831-475-4242, the anonymous tipline at 831-475-2791 or detective Leo Moreno at 831-475-4935.